Career library · Travel, hotels and food service

Cook and chef

Producing food that is good, safe and on time

What people in this work actually do

Prepare ingredients, cook to a consistent standard, manage quantities and cost, maintain hygiene and food safety, run a section under pressure, and build a repertoire people come back for.

This may suit you if…

You work fast and clean, you keep your head when ten things are happening, and you want a trade you can practise anywhere in the world.

The hard parts

Heat, long hours, weekend and evening work, and standing throughout. Kitchens can be high-pressure and sometimes harsh places. Progress depends heavily on who trains you.

We show these because nobody else will.

What people get wrong about this

That home cooking ability is the same as professional cooking. Volume, consistency, costing and hygiene standards are what separate the two.

What this looks like in a smaller town

Catering for weddings and functions is a substantial business in small towns, and many cooks build their own catering operation rather than staying employed.

Ways into this work

There is almost always more than one route, and the cheapest is often perfectly respected.

Start a catering business

Working for yourself · Starts from Class Classes 9 and 10

Build a small catering operation for local functions and weddings.

How long
1 year
What it costs
Not yet verified
Available near you?
In most districts

How to do it
Cost out a single function of fifty people in detail, including what you would be paid and when.

ITI in cooking

ITI trade course · Starts from Class Classes 9 and 10

An ITI trade in food production or cookery.

How long
2 years
What it costs
Not yet verified
Available near you?
In district towns

How to do it
Check which food trades your nearest government ITI offers.

Food production as a school skill subject

Skill subject at school · Starts from Class Classes 9 and 10

Take Food Production as the skill subject in Classes 9 and 10.

How long
2 years
What it costs
Not yet verified
Available near you?
In district towns

How to do it
Ask the school whether Food Production is among its approved skill subjects.

Skills that matter here

Essential

Staying calm under pressure

Carrying on sensibly when things go wrong or get busy.

Essential

Working safely

Spotting a hazard before it hurts somebody.

Essential

Measuring accurately

Getting a length, a weight or a quantity right.

Essential

Working in a team

Doing your part and helping the group finish.

See whether this fits your family

School is one of five parts of growing up. See how your child is doing across all five, what to try next at their age, and what it would honestly cost in your area.

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Sources

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